Thursday, 11 December 2014

Jacket knitting

I mentioned that I was disappointed with the blue sweater and that I had decided to remove the yarn for another new jacket pattern from Garnstudio. At the moment, I have completed the back and left front pieces. This pattern recommends using size 8 needle which I do not have. With my existing size 7 needle, I knitted a gauge swatch and concluded that I should upgrade my size to M with size 7 needle. As for lengthwise, I will just stick to the indications for size S. It turns out to be fine.

Left front piece and back piece

Double moss stitches

Mini snowman ornament

In addition, I have added a new member to my humble Christmas tree - My mini snowman. I enjoyed the process of crocheting this tiny little thing. This is a free crochet pattern from Grietjekarwietje. I kind of like my snowman except for its nose. I think it is a little too big. :(

Mini snowman with a funny nose

Crochet Heart Bunting

Since my little daughter is turning 2 in less than 2 months' time, I thought of putting up some decorations

her birthday. I googled around and found this cute heart bunting tutorial from HappyBerry Crochet. I love her tutorials as she is quite clear in explaining the steps.

Many more hearts to come

Nowadays, I face the challenge of dealing with Milena's tantrums. Needless to say, she is obviously entering the terrible twos stage. I started preparing this mega-size butternut squash curry a few hours before dinner, which I think is quite delicious.

The moment she sat down for dinner, she started throwing tantrums and demanded for breast-milk. Her father punished her by putting her in the hallway a few times. This did not stop her from crying. In the end, she skipped dinner and was not allowed to have her dessert. During shower time, she started another episode of outburst again. She refused to go in to the shower with her father and kept clinging on to me. If only I could understand why she can suddenly get so upset.

I shall stop here for now. I am tired but let me continue with my knitting before I go to bed :)

Saturday, 6 December 2014

Today, Milena turns 22 months. In 2 months' time, she will turn 2 years old. Sometimes, I can't believe how fast time has passed by. It seems like I was pregnant not too long ago and now, she's already talking and jumping everywhere. This journey hasn't been easy for me. I felt like I have grown up so much in the past few years. Right now, she can almost repeat what I say: "ELLO…I N MI-MEI-MA..." She has learnt to clear up her mess when I tell her to. She can also identify items from her picture books when being asked.

Last week, I finished knitting my quick and easy sweater but it turned out to be very disappointing. The armholes were too big for me. I don't think my sister would wear it even if I were to give it to her. Ultimately, I had decided to remove the stitches and recycle the yarn for another pattern. I had to put a halt to this project, as my husband has gotten a small Christmas tree and I was responsible for the decorations. So for the past few days, I had been busy with making mini Christmas ornaments. Here's what I have made.

I got all the patterns from YouTube and other craft-blogs. My favourite ornament(s) would be the mini stocking…and the Christmas bells.

Wednesday, 26 November 2014

Recently Zeeman introduced their new yarn Marl Wool, which consists 50% acrylic and 50% wool. It is a pretty thick wool and the ideal needle size to use is 7 or 8mm. At this moment there are 6 different types of Marl Wool. Each type consists of a mixture of colours. I find the colour mixture rather unique and refreshing.

When I came across a photo of a sweater on 'Libelle' magazine, I thought maybe I could try knitting it using Marl Wool. So I went down to the nearby Zeeman store and got myself a 'safer' colour - BLUE. The pattern recommends knitting 2 threads of Phildar Phil Randonnees simultaneously with size 6 and 7mm needles. But I think I'll be fine with my choice.

This sweater is very easily to knit. I would say it's for beginner's level (using stockinette stitch and 2x2 ribbing for the collar).

WIP - sweater

I estimated that I need a total of 9 balls for the sweater

It seems like I have quite a few pending projects on hand now. This is bad. I should resist all the temptations and get the current ones done first.

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

X'mas is around the corner. It came across my mind if I should get a Christmas tree and create my own ornaments for the tree. Although I would love to do that, space is a issue. Moreover, I'm sure that my little girl would destroy it. From next week onwards, all my weekends in Dec will be filled with family gatherings and celebrations from my husband's side. I'm not kind of looking forward to the celebrations 'cos I don't have much topics to share with others.
I spent last Christmas and New Year in Singapore. There was so much fun and laughters with my family and friends. I miss them so much, especially Domdom. Milena was 10 months old back then and she was learning to walk.

X'mas Day 2013. Milena with uncle Dom and me.

I remember that we had dinner at Swensen's after the swim. Time flies.

Since last week, I've been busy with crocheting and knitting my own candle jar cozies. These jar cozies have definitely helped to brighten up the atmosphere at home.

Knitting lace pattern

1st jar cozy completed. Though I'm not that pleased with my ribbon

Mini crochet jar cozy

Another version of crochet jar cozy

Love the shadows they cast on my wall

I'm currently making a 4th one. I will be giving away two of the jars to my husband's grandma for her upcoming birthday.

Yesterday (24th Nov) was my father's 59th birthday. I haven't seen him for 6 years. Last night, when I was lying on my bed, I thought about the past unhappiness since childhood. I can still remember everything..including the old furnitures that we had at home. What has happened in the past cannot be changed. I shall focus my energy on creating a happy environment for my little girl.

Milena posing for the camera, still able to fit in the sweater I made for her last year

Thursday, 13 November 2014

Yesterday I blogged about the 'Sir Lancelot' jumper I have made for my husband. I had intended to give it to him for his birthday in December. However, he has already worn it out to his work while I was still in my dreams. Ah well, I guess it doesn't make much difference giving it to him earlier or on the actual day itself?

The country where I come from, Singapore, is well-known for its hectic lifestyle. The pace of living is so fast that one might find it hard to give presents from your own creations. In other words, many Singaporeans just don't have the TIME to learn and create something that is (too) time-consuming.

I was a former software engineer and had been in the IT field for a decade. Throughout my past working experience, it was normal for me to work at least 50 hoursa week, excluding weekends. Over the weekends, I often had to work either from home or at the office. Work was so demanding that I had a few breakdowns and wondered to myself if I could ever do the things that I really enjoy doing.

When I moved to The Netherlands in 2009, I learned to pick up knitting and crocheting from Youtube. I noticed people over here have more freedom and space to pursue their interests. When my friends got to know about it, I heard people constantly telling me that I'm like a 'granny' or 'elderly lady'. Despite the teasing and negative remarks, I continued to knit and crochet till today. For the knitters and crocheters out there, you will agree with my opinions about knitting/crocheting:

1) It is therapeutic and meditative.2) It is addictive.3) It gives you a sense of satisfaction to see your own creation.4) It feels great to wear/use your creation than to buy from the store.

Hopefully one day, I can learn to design my own sweater. :)

Before I was done with the 'Sir Lancelot' jumper, I had already ordered new yarn for my upcoming projects from Hobbydoos.nl(http://www.hobbydoos.nl). This is the 3rd time I have made my orders from this online store. They are really efficient in their delivery. Make your orders today and you will expect your orders to arrive within the next 2 days (within Netherlands).

Delivered items from Hobbydoos.nl. Happiness.

Now, I can't wait to start on my new project: A feminine summer top with lace pattern and round yoke!!!

I'm using DROPS PARIS, color code 61:LIGHT PEACH. The yarn is made of 100% cotton and has a non-glossy surface.

Doing cast-ons along the waist-area for my top

I'm also concurrently working on my mollie flowers/puff-stitch flowers. I have started making these puffy flowers since mid-spring but somehow I stopped for a while and went to work on other projects.

Making 12 single-crochets around a magic ring.

My mollie flowers in multi-colors

Well, I had been wondering what I could make out of my mollie flowers. Probably a cushion cover?

Mollie flowers as a cushion cover?

I'm not even halfway through. :">

Perhaps, you will wonder why I didn't want to stick to just a few colors. Well, the reason is because I have accumulated a basketful of colorful yarn-balls which I didn't want to put to waste.

My homemade basketful of colorful yarn

There was a period when the famous cheap textile store in Netherlands, Zeeman, introduced a new variety of colors for their yarn Supersoft, which is suitable for making baby knitwear. It's really affordable and cheap. How can I resist it? :))

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

Hi there, this is going to be my very first blog. It took me a long time to decide to give blogging a shot. I'm not exactly the type of person who would write down my thoughts nor the events happening around me. Usually, I will just register everything in my memory. My brother was the first to suggest blogging about my knitting and crochet works, so here I am, finally beginning with my first step. Well, we'll see how far I can go.

Funny how the color of the jumper can look so different in every photo. I have not edited my photo at all. It's just the lighting.

Tadah…my husband wearing the jumper.

I used 15 balls (plus 1 extra ball, probably 'cos of his long arms) of DROPS KARISMA from Garnstudio according to their material-recommendations. But I picked the color LIGHT DENIM BLUE instead. This color should go well with any color? :)

A small review of DROPS KARISMA:This yarn contains 100% wool. It feels soft and comfortable on the skin. If you're looking for the kind of yarn that makes knitting easy with any needle, DROPS KARISMA would be the one for you.
I think I started on this project since mid September, while I was visiting my family in Singapore. After I came back on 10th October, I have been knitting vigorously every night after my daughter goes to bed. That's the only moment when I have time for myself. ;(

Ideally, I should be able to finish this jumper few days ago. When I asked my husband to try it on, initially he thought that the sleeves were still a little short for him. Yes, I mentioned 'still' as I have extended 3 cm longer than indicated. So, I had to remove the cast-off stitches for both arms and knit a few extra rows. Later, he felt that the armholes were a bit snug, and the collar was a bit high and 'fitting'. This time, I had to remove the stitches from the armhole and sleeve seams AND the cast-off stitches for the sleeves and the neck AND a few rows from the neck. Finally, I knitted the cast-off stitches very loosely and sewed all the seams back. I have knitted quite a few sweaters before. Even though I can have his body measurements, I still find it hard to make good judgements.

I think I slept a maximum of 5 hours for the few nights. Looking at the positive side, I have learnt to take note of these areas for my next sweater project. It's also a good training for my patience. Everything is possible as long as I persevere. You learn from the simplest things in life like this.